The Monster of Blood Moon Island
by Seven-Bridges
Summary: People vanish without trace on Blood Moon Island and when a member of their crew disappears, the Strawhats have to face an enemy who goes beyond the borders of humanity. Halloween fic, ZoSan/SanZo


_MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! XD_

_Happy Halloween, everyone!_

_Here is the first part of the Halloween fic and to be honest: I don't have the faintest idea how long it's going to be. Three chapters, maybe more._

_I also didn't make it to the really scary part yet, but I hope it's going to be enough for today._

_Enjoy! :)_

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.**

* * *

**The Monster of Blood Moon Island**

**Chapter One **

Dark clouds covered the sun as the Strawhats sailed towards their next destination. High waves slammed against the bow, rocking the Thousand Sunny relentlessly while the first few droplets of water reached the deck.

Nami was standing near the steering wheel and watched the clouds with uncertain eyes. A strong breeze blew through her hair as her gaze wandered to the log pose instead.

A terrible storm was coming and not even the Sunny would be able to outrun that one easily. They had to reach land soon if they wanted to be in a safe place when the storm hit them. And still, the next island...

"Woah, look, Nami! Look! The needle is going crazy! And even more than before!" Luffy exclaimed as he looked over her shoulder to see one of the log pose's needles shake relentlessly.

Noticing the shine in her captain's eyes, Nami quickly hid the log pose behind her back. "Luffy, I- I don't think we should go there. Wouldn't a calm, quiet island be much nicer to explore? With the Coup de Burst, we might even make it before the storm," she said in a sweet voice but Luffy's sour expression spoke volumes.

Now desperate, she grabbed Luffy's shoulders tightly and began to shake him. "Please a quiet island! Please, Luffy!"

But Luffy had already a dreamy look on his face. Any time this happened, he was either thinking about food or adventures and the realisation made Nami sink to the ground in despair.

"Don't worry, Nami-swaaaaan~!" Sanji exclaimed as he appeared in a twirl of hearts next to them. "I'll protect yooooou even if I die!" He made kissing noises as he put out his lips.

Zoro, who was standing behind Luffy at the moment, growled at the display of idiocy. "If only the curly brow would die already," he mumbled, but Sanji didn't hear anything as he leered at the still dismayed Nami.

"It might be best to reach an island before the storm, navigator-san," Robin said. "The sea can be more dangerous than anything on land."

"I know," Nami said with a sigh. "But after the last one... what if something was to happen again? What if we meet enemies there? Someone we can't defeat yet?"

"Don't worry, Nami," Luffy answered with an innocent smile. "Everyone has become so strong that nothing can stop us now."

He looked at his crew and all of a sudden, everyone save for Robin rubbed their necks in embarrassment, mumbling occasional 'Aw, stop it, you'-s at their captain. Even Zoro had a slight blush on his face and looked the other way to hide a smirk.

Seeing that no one disagreed any more, Luffy grinned at the others.

"Let's go, everyone! A new adventure waits for us!"

As everyone took their respective positions and the needle on the log pose kept shaking violently, not one of the Strawhat pirates imagined what they would be facing on the new island.

* * *

In a darker part of the New World, two figures were standing in the middle of an empty, dirty street. The smaller one shook in fear as the taller figure screamed at it.

An old sign on one of the wooden houses creaked as strong wind moved it with every gust, the noise underlining the taller figure's words like a fearsome melody.

"What are you doing out here?! It's past the curfew, child!" an old man told a little girl with trembling lips as he grabbed her arm roughly. "No one is allowed to be out after dark! Least of all, people like you."

The little girl had tears in her eyes as she looked up at the scary man. "M- My mum. I lost her. P-Please don't hurt me."

"Me? Hurting you?" the old man asked and then loosened his grip to bark out a laugh. "I'm the least of your worries, girl. Do you not know about the demon that terrifies these lands?"

"The demon?" the girl asked with a gasp. "M-My mum says the stories aren't true."

"Oh... they are, my child. They are," the man said in a low voice. His eyes glinted as he looked down at her. "The meanest of creatures live deep inside the forest and they have a king. A king with frightening, yellow eyes. It's said that the creatures capture people after dark to present them to their master. And what he does with them..." The old man shook his head. "No one knows. Not even one captured human had ever returned to the village."

When the girl began to shake violently, the man sighed. "Do you know where your house is? I'm taking you home and have a good, long talk with your mother."

Both of them stalked off, the little girl telling the man where to go while he gripped her hand tightly. Behind them, the moon's light shone down on an old, rundown sign at the end of the road.

'Blood Moon Town' it read in huge red letters and under them was written in smaller ones: 'Where the wolf howls after dark and no child of men escapes its claws'.

* * *

"Woah! That's one scary place!" Luffy exclaimed gleefully after the Sunny docked at the small harbour of the new island. They had barely managed to escape the storm and were all drenched by the merciless water.

After everyone had gotten changed, they took in the island they had reached. Some looked at the dark place with worry while others were excited at what they would be facing this time.

The island certainly belonged to one of the more inhospitable ones. Most of the land was covered in swamps and only small, wooden ways led visitors safely over the dangerous ground. Skulls were placed on sticks along the way to function as frightening candle holders and red wax ran down the lifeless bones, giving it the appearance of blood.

"An island just after my taste," Zoro said with a smirk as he walked down the plank, followed by Sanji who lit up a cigarette as he moved. "Bet they have some strong fighters here."

Nami, Usopp and Chopper, on the other hand, broke out into cold sweat and all three of them raised their hands in unison. "I'm calling for ship duty," they said simultaneously, making Luffy laugh.

"Oh, come on! It's gonna be fun!" he said to them.

The three looked back at the island. Once again, they took in the glowing skulls and dangerous ways before exclaiming, "No way!" while waving outstretched hands in front of their faces.

"You should let them be, captain-san," Robin said as she walked past him, a backpack placed on her shoulders. "Everyone should get a chance to prove themselves."

"W-What exactly do you mean by that, Robin?" Nami asked.

"Oh, I just find it rather brave that you three want to protect the ship from marines, pirates and monsters without further protection in this place. Normal people seem to live in the village," Robin said, pointing at a few gathered lights at the end of the wooden path. "So, that place might be safer than the Sunny at the moment." After giving Nami a kind smile, Robin left the ship with a smirk.

"I'll go!" Nami, Chopper and Usopp said in unison again.

Luffy grinned at them as he crossed his arms. "One of you has to stay here with the Sunny," he said to them. "Franky and Brook already took off."

And indeed, Franky and Brook were laughing about something while walking side by side on the wooden path.

Sweat breaking out on her forehead, Nami turned to Usopp with a weird grin. "Usopp! Didn't you want to work on your slingshot today?" she said in an unusual high voice. "You wanted to give it a really cool and amazing... robot thing, didn't you?"

On the word 'robot', Luffy and Chopper's eyes began to sparkle.

Realising Nami's plan, Usopp held up his hands in a protective gesture. "Woah there! Hold on! I never said anith-"

"A robot slingshot?! That's so cool, Usopp! You definitely have to stay here and do that!" Luffy cried out and Chopper looked up at Usopp with admiration.

"Usopp is so cool! I wish I could be useful like him!"

Now sweating heavily himself, Usopp looked from one excited face to the other and with an exasperated sigh, his shoulders drooped in defeat. "The Great Captain Usopp stays here then," he said with designation.

"I'm counting on you," Nami said with a wink and Usopp glared as he watched her, Luffy and Chopper go.

"I'll get you back for that," Usopp mumbled after Nami and went to get his tools.

* * *

While Usopp still cursed Nami in different languages, the other Strawhats entered the village one by one.

Curiously, they looked at the deserted streets. The houses were all rather simple and mostly built out of wood or natural stones. The same lanterns that had lined the paths from before, were placed in the village as well, filling the whole town with flickering candlelight. Shadows kept moving because of the unusual light sources and the skulls looked as if they laughed at the confused visitors.

"Strange," Sanji said as he arrived with Zoro, who looked still grumpy because Sanji had to lead him down the right path... _twice_. "Why isn't anyone out? It isn't even that late, yet."

"It appears, they have a curfew here, cook-san," Robin said. She stood in front of a big, wooden notice sign at the edge of the street and pointed at it. "There have been a few abductions in the night, it seems."

"Abductions? In such a small village?" Sanji asked. "Wouldn't anyone notice?"

"They did, but nothing was seen," a voice said out of an alley and everyone's heads turned to see an old man coming out into the light. He used a walking stick to support his bad leg as he hobbled towards them. "There are terrifying screams and then they are gone, vanished into thin air," he added as he scratched the white stubble on his chin.

"Uuh, that's such a scary story, Jii-san," Franky said as he arrived in the quiet town and behind him, Brook appeared as well, watching the old man with interest.

"I'm scared to death... oh, but I'm dead already. Yohohohohoho!" Brook said.

The old man looked unimpressed at Brook. "The powers of the devil in our town. How fitting," he said and shook his head. "What has the world come to? What will happen to this town... no one knows... no one..."

His words turning to whispers, he went back into the alley, the shadows of the night swallowing him whole again as he stepped between the houses and out of sight.

"Oi, Jii-san! Wait!" Sanji said and ran after him, but when he reached the alley, the man was already gone. "What..."

"Fast old man," Zoro said as he came up behind Sanji. "Or is the stupid cook just slow?"

"Shut up, marimo," Sanji replied through clenched teeth and then turned to Robin. "Robin-chwaaan, is there something else written about the kidnappings?"

Ignoring Sanji's noodle dance, Robin looked back at the sign. "Just that everyone is advised to move carefully in the dark. Do you think we could run into trouble, cook-san?"

Before Sanji could answer, Luffy appeared at the end of the way, running as fast as he could. Once he had seen his friends in front of him, he tried to stop by digging his feet into the dirty ground but stumbled and fell forward, tackling a surprised Brook to the ground.

"With a captain like ours, there is trouble _anywhere_," Sanji said, scowling at the bundle of rubber and bones on the ground.

Robin chuckled. "That might be true."

"Luffy-saaan, you're breaking my bones," Brook said as Luffy tried to wiggle free. "And wouldn't that be troublesome? Yohohohoho!"

After a bit, Luffy finally managed to free himself. "Sorry, Brook," he said and stood up. Head quickly swinging from side to side, Luffy looked around and then frowned. "Where are all the people?"

"There's a curfew here, captain-san," Robin answered. "No one is allowed to be out."

Still frowning, Luffy said, "That's not good." Then his eyes widened. "Wait, there's meat right? Restaurants are open, right? Right?" Luffy turned to Sanji. "Sanji, you said they have meat here! New, delicious meat!"

Unimpressed, Sanji blew out the smoke of his cigarette. "Yeah, but it doesn't really matter. If they aren't open, we can go hunting," he said and then turned to Zoro. "Oi, marimo! Wanna compete again? We didn't do that in ages."

Zoro grinned and pulled out Wado a few inches to look at the shining blade. "I wouldn't mind a bit of exercise. Think you can keep up with a master like me, cook?" he asked as he looked back at Sanji.

Sanji laughed. "You're a thousand years too early to beat me, mossy." Turning to Luffy, Sanji added, "What about you? Joining in?"

"Of course!" Luffy replied and drooled as he thought about all the food they would catch.

* * *

The Blood Moon forest was just like your average, scary Grand Line forest. Glowing eyes peeked through the bushes, every once in a while, they walked past combinations of skulls and feathers that hang from the trees and the wind provided powerful background noises to the scary surroundings.

Relentlessly, it blew through leaves and bushes, causing sounds that could have easily been screams of terror.

Only one thing made the forest decisively less scary.

"42 pirates and a bottle of beer, take one away and there are less of them here," Luffy sang at the top of his lungs, grinning widely. "41 pirates and a bottle of beer, if there is no meat then I'm not staying here."

"Your song makes no sense, Luffy," Sanji said with a frown. "And you're driving away all the prey."

"I dunno. Maybe he is luring them in instead," Zoro said while looking at the glowing eyes around them. "There ought to be some predators among those. But yeah, the song makes no sense. What are 42 pirates doing with _one_ bottle of beer?"

"I like it anyway," Luffy replied, grinned and took a deep breath. "32 pirates and a bottle of beer, take one away and there's no one here."

"How did you get from 41 to 32 and then to zero?" Sanji asked him and Luffy just grinned.

Zoro shook his head. "I'm gonna go off alone," he said. "Maybe they don't want to hunt when we're travelling in a pack." He just wanted to walk into a different direction when Sanji grabbed his arm.

"No chance, marimo. I'm not gonna let you go off and get lost in here. Do you have any idea how long I would have to search for you?"

Zoro glared at him. "No one asks you to, shitcook."

"You wanna bet? I'm always the one stuck with that task!" Sanji returned exasperatedly, tightening his grip on Zoro's arm.

Zoro looked down at Sanji's hand for a while, then looked up and smirked before whispering, "Maybe you just like chasing me."

Even in the darkness, Sanji's blush was apparent. "Maybe I just like kicking your ass as a reward!" he growled back.

"209 pirates and a bottle of beer, Zoro and Sanji are screeching and no one wants beer!"

"Shut the hell up, Luffy!" they screeched together.

* * *

"Wonder what those guys are doing now..." Nami said thoughtfully as she wandered with Robin through the empty streets. They had divided into groups to search the town for people but so far, Robin and her had had no luck. No one seemed to be outside and when they knocked at the doors, no answer came. To make matters worse, the wind's direction had changed, dragging the storm they had so barely escaped from, right to the island.

Several trees and large rocks surrounded the small harbour they had docked at. Usopp and Sunny should be relatively safe but the wind began to blow stronger and it was about to rain... not the nicest of combination when you were out in the open.

"I'm sure those three will be alright," Robin answered Nami's worries. "What concerns me more than the storm is that old man's story. The New World has proven to be quite dangerous and it wouldn't surprise me, if there was some truth to the man's words."

"But people vanishing into thin air?" Nami asked with a frown. "If that really happens, could it be a Devil's Fruit user maybe?"

"Or an unusual power that has to do with the island," Robin returned. "The question is: Where do all those people go? What happens to them?" Robin asked.

Nami shuddered. "Nothing good, I think. Ah, I had a bad feeling about this from the start! Why does Luffy always have to choose the most dangerous destination?! It's as if he's _looking_ for trouble."

"Oh, I think he considers it fun," Robin replied with a smile.

Nami's shoulders sagged as she looked down. "Fun... fun would be a nice, hot bath at the moment."

Robin just wanted to tell her how Nami could take a long one on the Sunny, when a loud noise made them turn around.

"Yohohohoho!"

Full speed ahead, Brook came running towards them, waving a piece of clothing through the air.

"Nami-san! Robin-san! I've found someone!" he cried out. Both women looked behind him and saw indeed that someone was running after him.

"Come back here, you damn pervert!" a blonde girl cried out, shaking her fists angrily at the skeleton. "Give me back my panties!" Her hair that was bounded in a high pigtail, swang from side to side as she run. She looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old and the pyjama she wore, indicated that she had come right out of bed.

Silently, Nami counted to ten in her mind. "You... damn... idiot!" she cried out just as Brook had reached her and kicked him right into the next wall.

"Woah! Great kick, nee-san!" the girl said and then went to retrieve her panties. Taking them from the bony hand that stuck out of a pile of dirt and debris, the girl grinned.

"That was indeed pretty good, navigator-san," Robin said with a smile. "Did cook-san give you some lessons?"

"If with 'lessons' you mean him sneaking into the bath and me having to throw him out again, then yes, he gave me some lessons," Nami said and dusted off her clothes. "More importantly, we should ask the girl about the kidnappings."

While Nami went over to the girl who excitedly began to talk to her 'saviour', Robin looked down the street where Brook had come from.

Hadn't Franky been with him?

* * *

"Why did I even go with these brutes," Sanji said to no one in particular as he wandered next to Zoro through the woods. Luffy had run off a few minutes ago when he had heard a grunt somewhere and followed it with a battle cry. "I should've stayed with dear Nami-san and Robin-chan instead. Whatever will they do without me?"

"Enjoying the silence?" Zoro asked and Sanji shook his head.

"And in this scary place on top of it all," he said, ignoring Zoro's words. "With no one but a bunch of idiots and a reindeer to cling to."

Zoro snorted. "Nami and Robin can watch out for themselves. You should give them a bit more credit, cook."

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to take care of beautiful women, you brute," Sanji said and lit up a cigarette. After blowing out the smoke, he continued, "I know how much they've changed and that they're strong, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to spoil them every once in a while."

"How about spoiling me every once in a while?" Zoro asked with a smirk.

After raising his eyebrows at that, Sanji shook his head and went on ahead. "Spoiling you isn't nearly as much fun... and I'm doing that enough, anyway," he said with his back to Zoro.

"Cook?"

"Hm?"

"Your ears are red," Zoro pointed out and Sanji nearly stumbled over a rock.

"S-Shut up!" Sanji said without turning around, his ears and neck becoming even redder. "Let's quit this senseless talk and just try to catch some meat for our hungry captain."

He laughed, the sound of his voice sounding awkward and fake even to his ears. "I bet he has run through the whole jungle by now. Do you think it really was a pig, marimo?"

When no answer came, Sanji frowned and turned around. "Marimo, aren't you listen-" he began but when he had turned, there was no one there any more. "Zoro?" Calling a bit louder now, Sanji went back a few steps. The moon only lit up a tiny area and the dark made it hard to see very far.

"Don't tell me the idiot got lost again," Sanji mumbled. "Zoro! Oi, Zoro!"

For ten minutes, he continued to call for his crewmate but no answer came.

* * *

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Chopper cried out as he mistook a shadow for a ghost again.

After seeing how Usopp had stayed on the Sunny to work on a new weapon, Chopper had the sudden wish to be stronger as well and had insisted on going through the town alone. Unfortunately, he had underestimated how scary the place would look once the storm had reached the island and clouds covered the moon.

Now, he was seeing scary figures crawling around _everywhere _and wished he had gotten this sudden rush of bravery on an island that was home for butterflies and rabbits instead of skulls.

While the town itself was rather small, it still had many alleys and thanks to the strong wind blowing, Chopper didn't think anyone would hear him if he was to get into trouble.

"I... I have to be stronger, so the others can rely on me," Chopper whispered to get a bit of his courage back. Determined, he looked up at one of the skulls. "Those skulls aren't scary... Brook is like them too and he isn't scary, either. Nothing here is scary at all," he said determinately. Crossing his arms, he stared down the skull that laughed at him. The candles' light changed its expression with every flicker, making it seem as if the bones moved.

But still, Chopper stood his ground.

He could do this... he would show his friends how capable he had become. Nothing in this place will be able to scare-

"Aww, aren't you cute!"

"Waaaaah!"

Two hands had grabbed Chopper's shoulders from behind and he jumped into the air, screaming on the top of his lungs before he passed out seconds later.

"Did I scare you, little guy?" a figure asked. It's face was shrouded in darkness as it took Chopper into its arms. "Don't worry, you'll be perfect for my collection. Just like all the others."

* * *

"So, it's really true what that man said?" Nami asked the girl and she nodded.

"Yeah. Well, not the screaming part. He probably made that up to make it more dramatic," the girl said. "The truth is that everyone vanished into thin air. 'Poof'! Just like that." Shaking her head, she looked at the ground. "I've seen it once. A friend of mine was there one second and just gone the next."

"And there is no trace of them?" Robin asked. "Nothing at all?"

"No, nothing. I... I never saw him again," the girl said.

They stayed silent for a while and only Brook trying to pull his head out of the debris disturbed the calm night until Robin spoke again, "Is there something else you know about those kidnappings? Anything at all?"

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well... there is this old legend."

"Legend?" Nami asked and the girl nodded.

"It says that a monster comes out at night to take away the innocent. Can't really say that Peter was innocent, though," the girl said and laughed. "He used to do all sorts of stuff that angered the other townspeople. Like stealing food and stuff."

"Sounds like Luffy," Nami mumbled. When she noticed Robin's pondering look, she added, "Did you notice something, Robin?"

"Nothing in particular," she answered. "Just... the word innocence isn't only used to describe pure intention. Instead, it could mean-"

"Pure hearted people or sexually pure," a grumpy voice said behind them and Nami and Robin turned around quickly. "The monster takes only that kind away. It takes them away and they're never seen again."

"Again with the stories, Jii-san?" the girl said to the man. "Why do you always have to scare everyone?"

"The truth is scarier than any story I can tell, my dear," the man answered. "Oh, I've seen it. The yellow eyes, the long teeth and a light! A green light surrounded it like a shield. And then that scream... the same kind of scream from a few minutes ago."

"Scream?" Nami asked with a frown. "There was no scream."

"Oh, you can't hear them. But I can... I can hear them all. That terrifying sound whenever someone gets taken again," the old man replied and then shook his head as he looked sadly to the ground. "This time, it was one of your friends. One of your friends is gone."

"T-That's a terrible joke!" Nami cried out, her eyes wide as she rushed to the old man and grabbed his shoulders tightly. "Stop that!"

"It's too late, my dear girl," he said to her. "Too late."

"Navigator-san, calm down," Robin said, touching her shoulder gently to get her away from the man. "We don't know if he says the truth."

"But I have a bad feeling, Robin. Something is going on here and... and-" Nami shook her head. "We should go and reunite with the others. Just to be sure."

Robin nodded. "Let's go then. Skeleton-san, do you need some help?" she asked Brook and without waiting, Robin used her powers to grow some arms out of the debris. The limbs pulled Brook out while putting aside certain rocks at the same time.

"Thank you, Robin-san!" Brook said as he was finally free. "I thought my bones would break from the pressure! Yohohohoho!" Then he turned suddenly serious again. "But that man's words are worrying me. I haven't seen Franky-san for some time now."

"Didn't you get separated when you were chased?" Robin asked.

Brook shook his head. "When I told him about my discovery, he was already gone. I had been talking for a while before and walked in front of him, but never looked back and didn't get an answer, either. I wonder if something happened to Franky-san."

"That's not good... not good at all," Nami said. "Let's go and find the others before it's too late!"

* * *

"Yo, I'm searching for a relative of yours. He's about my size, with green grass growing on his head and a sulky attitude. He has got something of a human but I'm not too sure about that..." Sanji said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

When the flower, he had knelt before, didn't answer, Sanji sighed and stood up again. "You plants stick together, huh?" he asked the flower and then looked into the darkness around him. "Just where had that guy run off to?"

It was strange that Zoro just vanished when they were talking like that. That guy had been in the middle of teasing him and usually, he wouldn't just vanish out of sight. No, he would do some other... stuff instead.

"And where is that rubber captain even?" Sanji mumbled after fighting down another blush that had been caused by memories. "I-It's not like I'm their babysitter."

Sometimes, it was scary how similar Luffy and Zoro were. Not only did they like to vanish, they also had this similar state of mind.

"Makes a guy jealous, huh? Marimo's relative-kun?" Sanji asked and bowed down to poke the white flower's petal with his index finger.

Silently, the flower swang from side to side and for a short moment, Sanji thought he heard a laugh in the distance.

Just what was up with this forest?

* * *

In another part of the island, a man looked up at the moon, his eyes glinting yellow in the silver light. He had a small smile on his lips as he whispered a song to the moon.

_"Nine pirates without a bottle of beer, someone screams and only eight remain here."_

**TBC**


End file.
